Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File R. 20,137, David Freemoyer, New York

SERVICE
New York
Freemeyer, David
NUMBER _____
R. 20.137
CONTENTS

31.967
David Seimoyee
1832
Ohio
Declaration for obtaining Pension
to Service Albany Co Ohio. Scent. Service
Rolling Stone
J. W. Allen Grandson Ohio.

State of Ohio } County of Washington } ss
On this 13 th day of August 1834 personally appeared before me the Subscriber a justice of the Peace in & for the County of Washington State aforesaid, David Greemoyee, a resident of the said County & State aforesaid aged Seventy three years the 28 th day of February last, who being first duly sworn according to law, doth on his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress passed June 7 th 1832.
That he entered the service of the United States under the following named Officers and served as herein stated (Towil) That in May 1778. Affiant was residing in Albany County, then a frontier County of the State of New York on a creek called Cobleskill, a branch of the Schoharie river, when a party of Indians consisting of Mohawk's, Seneca's & Anagnagua's, besides some Tories; principally from the Unandilla & Anagnagua settlements of Indians on the North branch of the Susquehanna river, having penetrated into the settlement, where affiant lived, Cap t Christopher Brown of the Militia with his whole Company was ordered out, of which affiant was one, (he affiant having been enrolled on this occasion for the first time) A Company of Continental troops, was also detailed & sent from Fort Clinton which was situated on Schoharie river about nine miles from the settlement in which affiant lived, to go against the Indians; which Company was commanded by a Cap t Patrick. Cap t Patrick's Company joined Affiant's Company at the house of George Warner who resided on Cobleskill aforesaid, 31 st day of May of said year 1778. just before the junction of the two Companies, Indians had been seen running across the fields backwards & forwards, which was done no doubt for the purpose of decoying Affiant's Company into the woods, where the Indians would be lying in ambush for them, as it afterwards proved to be the case, for as soon as Cap t Patrick's Company arrived, the Officers sent out three men as Scouts & when but a very little way in the

Woods they were fired on & one of them shot through the body, nevertheless being so near to the house, he got in & afterwards recovered. Affiant states that as soon as they heard the guns fired, they all ran in great haste out in pursuit of the Enemy, being entirely ignorant of their number & met the Scouts in the edge of the Woods returning & a parcel of the Enemy in close pursuit, Affiant states that they immediately encountered the fire of the Enemy who kept firing & retreating for at least a mile, until they fell back upon their main body, who was commanded by Colonel Brandt. Affiant states that they were in such hot pursuit of the Indians that they were precipitated upon the main body of them, before they were aware of it, who were lying in ambush behind a small knoll, of some 2 or 300 yards in length & about 4 feet in height, a singular freak of nature this, if natural, but being on a level gravelly spot of ground & of such equal height & width & withall, so straight from one end to the other, that Affiant thinks it was the work of some ancient race of people long since extinct & at present unknown to the world (if ever) thrown up for defence in some of their wars with hostile foes. This knoll or ridge was covered with timber, but not so large as the timber on the ground surrounding, owing probably to the fact, that the knoll was not so thick - there was no ditch on either side, but on the side the Indians lay the surface of the earth near the knoll seemed to Affiant, when viewing the ground since the battle, to be somewhat lower than on the opposite side - behind this knoll the Indians had driven stakes into the ground, fastened a stick across the top, on which they had put pieces of blankets & stuck a hat or cap thereon, in order to deceive Affiant's party. An excellent device too, as Affiant states, that many in their zeal to destroy the enemy, and not being able to distinguish well for the smoke occasioned by the firing, were deceived & fired at the supposed bodies of the Indians, while the real Indians were lying or stooped below their imaginary men & firing upon Affiant's party; as soon as Capt Patrick (who was in advance of his men and a brave officer) discovered the situation of the Enemy, he directed his men who had fixed bayonets on their muskets to charge upon the enemy, but before his order could be executed, he was shot dead & one of

his Lieutenants was killed at the same instant. The death of Cap t Patrick & his Lieutenants so damped the Ardor of the Americans & the Enemy was found to be so much superior in numbers being about 300 or 350 while that of the Americans was only about 200. Cap t Brown, ordered a retreat, and they retreated with great precipitation to Fort Clinton before spoken of - The Enemy only made prisoner the Ensign belonging to Captain Patrick's Company, who they kept about two years before he was exchanged, when he returned home & reported that the Enemy in this engagement was 350 strong & had lost 36 killed. Affiant states that affiant's party lost 21 men killed including officers & had 9 wounded. That the enemy laid waste the whole settlement on Cobleskill, by burning Houses, barns, stables & shooting such horses as they could not conveniently catch to take away with them - That he remained voluntarily in the service of the United States until in September or October (he thinks) of said year, when he was sent sent from Fort Clinton in a Company of Rangers, about 32 in number & placed under Command of a Captain John Dity, & attached to a Regiment commanded by Col o Butler, sent on an expedition against the Towns of the Unandilla and Andagnagua Indians. That the Indians had left their Towns when Col o Butler arrived, leaving only 2 very old Squaws, who affiant's party left in a hut together with some provision to sustain them, until they might be taken away, or provided for by the tribe to which they belonged. Col o Butler burnt all their buildings, save the one just spoken of & destroyed their Orchards & a large quantity of Corn, after which they returned to Fort Clinton again, where Affiant remained in the service stationed in Fort Clinton until the latter end of June 1779, under Cap t Brown aforesaid Lieut t Post & Ensign Nicholas Warner, That the Fort was commanded by Col o Peter Vrooman. - Affiant was employed in guarding the Fort aforesaid, which contained as well women & children, who had taken refuge there from the savage ferocity of the Enemy, as soldiers for the protection of the Fort & the Inhabitants generally - Affiant being at that time amazingly fleet & a good marksman, as well as woodsman

for one of his years, was frequently while in this Service sent out as a Spy or Scout to range the Country round about, which he performed faithfully, sometimes skirmishing with small parties of Indians, the relation of which would swell this narrative to too great a length to admit of insertion. That Affiant was discharged about the last of June 1779, after having served One year and about One month , but whether he received a discharge or not he does not now recollect. Affiant in this thirteen months service, knew, in addition to the Officers already named, Col o Seeley, Cap t Hagar & Lieutenants John Lawyer, John Baker & Ditts or Ditz, the 5 last named, were Militia Officers, as Affiant believes. The names or number of any Continental or Militia Regiment with which he served he does not now recollect, but believes the Regiment commanded by Col o Butler was called the 4 th Pennsylvania Regiment.
That an Expedition being meditated against the Six Nations of Indians, Affiant volunteered for that Campaign immediately after his discharge in the latter part of June 1779 aforesaid, & was sent under a Cap t or Major Part of the Continental troops, who commanded a Company of Rangers, & was marched from Fort Clinton aforesaid & joined Col o Butler's Regiment at what was then called the Middle Fort on Schoharie river, & marched by way of Cobleskill creek, thence through Cherry Valley to Otsego Lake, at which place they were joined by General Clinton, with a large body of the American Army, finding the water too low to float their boats down to Tioga point. Gen l Clinton ordered a dam erected across the mouth of the Lake, which caused the water soon to raise to the height of the dam, & having every thing in readiness they opened a passage through the dam for the water to flow, which raised the river so as to enable them to embark & float down to Tioga Point, at which place in a few days they were joined by General Sullivan the Commander in chief of the expedition, the two Divisions then united & marched up what was called the Cayuga or Western branch of the Susquehanna river, which led them immediately into the Indian Country. That after having routed a few small bodies of the Enemy, while on their march, they

(5) found the main body of the enemy collected near New Town well fortified, composed of Indians & Tories, who they defeated & routed after a somewhat obstinate resistance on the part of the enemy, who escapes across the Cayuga river, and made for the Lake of that name - That General Sullivan, with his army pursued the enemy to the Cayuga lake, where Gen l Sullivan detached a Lieutenant Boyd with his Afiant & some 18 or 20 men including two friendly Indians, who went as Pilots, & sent them in the night across the river at its outlet from the lake to ascertain, if the enemy were not lying in ambush in a large Cedar Swamp on the opposite side for the purpose of attacking Gen l Sullivan's Army as they crossed the river; Their Orders were to cross over, (which they did, on rafts made of Cedar poles, tied together with leatherwood bark) & examine the banks along, if the enemy were not discovered, they were then to penetrate the Swamp & go through, which was not more than from one quarter to a half mile wide, & to go to a certain high knob, which was a quarter of a mile or more beyond the Swamp, upon which knob the detachment was to lie concealed on the next day, & watch the movements of the enemy, in case any were there, & the succeeding night they were to return to Gen l Sullivan's Camp. Affiant states, that they crossed as aforesaid, in the night, examined the banks, made no discoveries of the enemy - passed through the Swamp also without making any, & passed on to the high knob before spoken of, where they remained until the next morning, all the next day, & the next night, (as Lieut Boyd refused to return the second night as he was ordered to do) until the second morning after they had crossed the river, when the unfortunate Boyd determined to return to Sullivan, declaring that there were no Indians there, as they had had Scouts out all the day before, who had not been able to make any discoveries of them. True. Scouts had been out, but the enemy had not left the Swamp, into which the scouts did not penetrate, & of course, they had made no discoveries - against this rash proposition of the Lieutenant, Affiant declares every man, he believes remonstrated, urging upon him the danger of returning by day in case any of the enemy should be lying in wait

6/ because if they had left a force sufficient to annoy Genl Sullivan in crossing the river, it must be a large party, & of course much superior to the Lieutenants detachment, for that event being between them & our crossing we must certainly be destroyed; but all in vain, the ill fated Lieutenant, declared that there were no Indians there, & having determined to return that morning, no entreaty availed to shake him from his purpose, so about 8 O'clock the Lieutenant started with the detachment to the Swamp, where they commenced marching by single file, this Afiat & one Timothy Murphy in front - Lieut Boyd in the rear, when they had passed greater part of the Swamp along a path leading through, the enemy lying in ambush for Afiats party (having discovered their trail no doubt the day before & expecting their return) commenced firing upon their rear & instantaneously thereafter fired all along the two lines they had formed on each side of the path extending beyond Afiat and Murphy, at the same time closing the extremes of the two lines, whereby the whole detachment were entirely surrounded & hemmed in by the enemy - Afiat & Murphy upon the first fire of the enemy in front, dropped & lay flat on the ground, to avoid the effects of their fire, & so continued to lay until the firing has nearly ceased, when they sprang to their feet & fortunately for Afiat & Murphy the morning was foggy, & amidst the fog & smoke occasioned by the firing of the enemy in front, Afiat & Murphy were enabled to escape through the line of the enemy unhurt, running against & knocking over several Indians, as they broke through their lines - Afiat & Murphy kept together & holding a consultation as they ran agreed to run around the Swamp Lake, although a distance of about Ninety two Miles, to reach Genl Sullivan again, as Murphy declared (which Afiat knew well to be true) that it was out of the question to attempt an escape by recrossing the river again, as the enemy would certainly be upon them before they could leave the shore - Afiat & Murphy ran about four or five miles, when they were overtaken by five large dogs, the Indians had set after them. Three of these dogs were very severe and would take hold in an instant, the other two

would not bite, but would follow after & bay them. Two of these dogs ran up to Murphy & seized & lacerated him much, before he could kill them, which he succeeded in doing with his tomahock - while Murphy was engaged with the two dogs, Afiat was engaged with the 3 rd dog, who had seized Afiat just at the time the others had seized Murphy, but Afiat was not so well prepared by far, for the fight as his companion was, although Afiat had but one to contend with, while his companion had two; for Afiat had lost his tomahock at the time he fell down to avoid the fire of the Indians in the swamp & he & Murphy thought it most prudent & had agreed, when they discovered the dogs coming after them, not to shoot the dogs for fear some of the Indians, who they were certain were near them, might come upon them while their guns were empty & excepting his rifle Afiat had no weapon to defend himself with, other, than a very thin case knife ground sharp at the point, Afiat having sometime before lost his butcher knife. The dog first seized Afiat by the fleshy part of the thigh, in front, & near his crotch - Afiat struck at him with his knife & occasionally with his fist but did not hurt the dog materially, he eventually succeeded in disengaging the dogs hold of his thigh, however, not until he had torn it considerably - The dog next seized Afiat by the side of the leg & sunk one of his tusks deep into his leg just by the size of the bone; after loosing the dogs hold of the leg, he seized Afiat by the throat & held on until from loss of wind occasioned by Afiats choke - ing him severely, he was compelled to let go, when he dropped to the ground on his fore feet & stood close by Afiat an instant, gaping for breath, in this situation, Afiat made an under-handed thrust at the dogs flank, which struck low and penetrated into the intestines, when Afiat making a considerable effort (considering his exhausted state) & ripped the dog open across to the back bone & let out his entrails - Notwithstanding this, the dog made another spring at Afiats neck, but from exhaustion & the wound just given him, only sprang high enough to reach Afiats breast, upon which he inflicted a wound of some three or four inches in length, when he fell down & died - just at this instant Murphy having finished the two that had attacked him, came to Afiats assistance - glad

would Afiant have been, after he was in contact with the dog, to have been able to shoot him, the consequence of the Enemy coming upon him & he with an empty gun, he would willingly have resigned; but then it was too late, he could not disengage himself from the dog, and his knife was so weak in the blade, that he was afraid to make a heavy plunge, for fear it would break - & sorely indeed did he repent not shooting the dog while it had been in his power - Immediately after the conclusion of the fight, Murphy discovered standing at a small distance & pointed out to Afiant Cap t Yoke, a friendly Indian of the Stockbridge tribe, who had went out as one of the pilots on this excursion - Simultaneously with discovering Cap t Yoke, Afiant & Murphy discovered about thirty naked Indians, within 50 yards of them, all with tomahocks in their hands, Afiant thinks, not a rifle amongst them, having left them to make the better speed, no doubt, expecting to find Afiant & those they pursued, with no guns, or empty if any, when they would be able, with the assistance of their dogs to deprive us of, or take our scalps - Here had Afiant & Murphy not been wounded & fresh as when the race commenced, the Indians would have paid dearly for their temerity, in leaving their guns behind. but situated as Afiant & Murphy were, wounded much by the dogs they had killed, already much fatigued by running & their fight with the dogs, & having a great way to travel before they could reach camp, & withal two dogs & about 40 Indians close at their heels, prudence forbids any other course for them to pursue, but, to seek safety in flight reach the Army they had left with all possible speed - Afiant & Murphy therefore instantly on discovering the Indians so close, put off at the top of their speed & ran on, followed by the dogs & Indians about 15 miles, as Afiant supposes, from where they had had the encounter with the dogs, when Afiant & Murphy believing the Indians to be some distance behind, had leisure & shot the remaining two dogs - To this place Afiant thinks the Enemy pursued him & his Companion & gave up further pursuit - Afiant & Murphy went on until in the night sometime, when being much fatigued, they stept out of the path to one side to rest, & to observe if any of the enemy passed - after sitting & resting sometime, they discovered Cap t Yoke passing along, who they had not seen before, since the time they started when the Indians were so close

upon them - they knowing it to be a joke, hailed him & from that time went on in company all three together to where they had left Genl Sullivan encamped, which they reached the next morning about 8 O'clock. When they arrived Genl Sullivan had with his whole army crossed the river - whereupon Affiant, Murphy & their Indian ally constructed a log raft immediately, crossed the river & overtook the Army, just as they were engaged in collecting for burial the bodies of the scouts killed the previous morning & putting together the body of Lieu t Boyd, which the enemy had severed in five pieces - the Head cut off - the body then split in twain & then each half cut into again - Here Affiant & Murphy had their wounds dressed, for the first time after their infliction, except the wound on the side of Affiant's leg, which gave Affiant so much pain in travelling the day before that he was compelled to do something if possible to relieve it - which he done by killing a striped squirrel & putting the brains of the squirrel on the wound & fastening them on with the skin thereof - Affiant's wounds were so bad & disabled him so much that he was placed on a packhorse & rode for six days - In due time Genl Sullivan reached the Indian settlements on the Genesee river, but finding no enemy to contend with, he destroyed all their buildings, orchards, gardens & their immense crops of corn, after which Genl Sullivan returned by the same route again to the Susquehanna river, thence down the same to Harrisburg Pa, thence to Easton Pa where Affiant & such of the rangers as were yet living were discharged & ordered to return to fort Clinton again - where they arrived about the last of October, 1779 making in all which he served this time Four Months - Affiant did not receive any written discharge for this time, that he remembers of - a letter was sent by them to Col o Vrooman who was in command at Fort Clinton, stating the particulars of the expedition, & that the rangers (of which Affiant was one) had acquitted themselves well &c. In this Campaign Affiant knew Gen ls Sullivan, Clinton & Maxwell, Col o Butler & Major Parr, Lieu t Boyd & many other Officers whose

names he has now forgotten.
That about the first of May 1780, Afiant still residing in Albany County New York, enlisted under Cap t Cannon or Kennon for the term of One Year & was attached to a Regiment commanded by the said Col o Peter Vrooman & stationed at the Middle fort on the Schoharie river, that Afiant was appointed & served as Orderly Sergeant of the Company to which he was attached during the whole term of his Enlistment, that he served during the season of 1780 until the expiration of his Term in May 1781, mostly as a ranger, generally having command of Scouting parties, sent out to scour the country, for the protection of the fort & safety of the settlement. That sometime in the Fall of the year 1780 a large body of British, Indians & Tories, from Niagara, under command of Sir John Johnson, penetrated the country, meditating an attack on the Middle Fort, it being the strongest & of most consequence to the enemy to possess, the enemy marched by the upper fort, without molesting it, which they could easily have taken, as that Fort was weak, being only a Picket fort, with two small pieces of artillery - as soon as the enemy passed the fort, the garrison perceiving it to be the object of the enemy to take either the middle or lower fort by surprise, they fired off one of their pieces of artillery to alarm the Middle Fort, which was only about four miles off. This gun they heard very plainly, at the Middle fort & immediately Col o Vrooman sent out a detachment of about 100 rifle men of whom Afiant was one, under command of Cap t Woolsey of the Continental or state troops, but who just happened, there by accident (as Afiant believes) he not belonging to the fort. This detachment were to go, with all possible speed to the upper fort, to ascertain the cause of the alarm, & then act as circumstances might require - as they were proceeding along in haste by a route not usually travelled - Afiant voluntarily took the place of one Jacob Franks who was placed as a flank guard on the left of the company. Franks was a Mesquame & particular friend of Afiant's & Afiant knowing him to be unwell took his place on the left as aforesaid while they were passing through a large pasture, in which the cattle & horses belonging to the fort were usually pastured. (this pasture was very large & considerably grown up with willows & other bushes, growing about in bunches)

Affiant proceeding expeditionly & cautiously along, discovered in front of him five or six Indians running very closely together in the same direction. Affiant was moving - Affiant took deliberate aim & fired at the bunch, for they were running as before stated in very close order & Affiant noticed immediately after, that his shot produced considerable confusion among the squad, Affiant does not therefore doubt, that he killed one of them, as it was the only gun fired at the enemy there, & an Indian, was found a few days afterward lying dead with a rifle & knapsack at a spring near where Affiant fired. As soon as Affiant fired (as was his duty) he ran in & joined his company, by this time the enemy made their appearance in sight & so numerous were they, that Capt Woolsey ordered a retreat to the fort, which was effected without any loss, although the enemy closely pursued firing many shots at them, but fortunately none took effect - The enemy then invested the Fort & threw three bombs at it, one of them only falling into it, which however done no particular injury - Sir John Johnson then sent two men with a flag of Truce, it was supposed to summon the fort to surrender, & contrary to the order of Col o Vrooman (whose valor the men in the fort placed but little reliance upon) the man bearing the flag was shot when about 140 yards off the fort by Timothy Murphy the same person, with whom Affiant had suffered so much, in the unfortunate expedition under Lieutenant Boyd. The other person ran back, without attempting to proceed further with the flag - The enemy succeeded only in killing one man in the fort, this was a Samuel Runnels or Reynolds, who went on top of one of the buildings in the fort, & there foolishly & indecently exposed his hind parts to the enemy in contempt of them, & there remained contrary to the admonition of those in the fort, until one of the enemy under cover of some sprouts, put up from bushes & saplings, that had been previously cut off, crept near enough to shoot & fired at him, the ball just breaking the skin across, above one of his eyebrows, this stunned Reynolds & he fell off the house, on the pavement or some stone below on his head & broke his neck
It was afterwards said that Sir John Johnson

having discovered Reynolds's contempt of them with a spy glass, gave a Guinea half Johannes or some gold coin to an expert marksman to shoot Reynolds, which was accomplished in the manner before related. But for the truth of this story I cannot vouch Col. Vrooman, then commenced firing at the enemy, who were some 400 or 500 yards off, with some small brass cannon, when the enemy marched off, not however without getting a good warning before they left the neighborhood - seeing the route they took & knowing that the enemy had to lead a long & deep ravine after leaving the fort, the road passing very near the same place back again after leaving the ravine - Captain Woolsey aforesaid with about 100 rifle men including Afiant was despatched to a certain place, from which the enemy could be much annoyed without endangering Capt. Woolsey's men - This was an elevated spot of ground, on which had been erected a block house (but at this time not in use) which commanded the road on the opposite side of the deep ravine, by which road the enemy must of necessity pass, & where it would be impossible for them to cross the ravine to drive Capt. Woolsey from his position & impracticable to return by the road, being one & 2 1/4 miles. This place Capt. Woolsey & his men reached in time, from which they fired three rounds at the enemy, when they retreated to the fort again, as the enemy instantly started a large detachment, back by the way of the road to dislodge them, which detachment Capt. Woolsey did not think it prudent to wait for - they followed Capt. Woolsey to the fort but on firing a cannon shot at them they again retired. In this engagement across the ravine Afiant believes they killed many of the enemy, as on viewing the ground soon afterwards he seen much blood in & about the road & a very large fresh dug grave, near by, where they had buried their dead, but what number they killed Afiant did not know, as they did not open the grave - previous to the Enemys attack on the middle fort, they set fire to & burned a mill on the Schoharie river, which ran 6 pair of stone, owned by John Baker - this mill the enemy had made frequent attempts to burn before, but did not succeed until the present time - after this the enemy passed down the Schoharie & then up the Mohawk river, laying waste & destroying every thing before them & returned to Niagara again - When

Afiant completed his One year's service, as Orderly Ser- geant , he was regularly discharged, but who signed it, Afiant does not recollect - but remembers that about 1790 he had some pieces of it, the same having worn out where folded, but what became of them he does not now recollect - In the course of this last year's service, Afiant knew in addition to the Officers already named Col: Seely, Captains Hagare, John Seely & David Baker & Lieut: Hiltts or Ditz, besides others at present not recollect- ed.
That in the year 1781. Afiant still residing in Albany County in the State of New York, in the month of May, Volunteered under Col: Vrooman for a Term of Eight Months & served as Orderly Sergeant in a Company commanded by Capt: Christopher Brown & was stationed at the Middle fort on the Schoharie river, that he served principally as a ranger, having gener- ally when out, (as in the last year) command of a parcel of Scouts. That sometime in the year 1781 (Afiant thinks it was) the time Afiant cannot now recollect, Afiant was in an engagement under Col: Willet, with the enemy under command of Col: Brandt who had taken a number of whites prisoners, on Troups Kill, a place not far from the Mohawk river, & Col: Willet with about 400 men had been sent in pursuit of Brandt, who he surprized & defeated at a place, called Turlach or Turlach, on a water emptying into the Mohawk river, killing many of the enemy, number not now known, but before Col: Willet suc- ceeded in recapturing the prisoners, the enemy had put them to death - In this engagement Afiant received a slight wound on the left side, just above the hip by a rifle ball - That sometime in October of said year 1781 the country was penetrated by a large body of British, Indians & Tories, commanded (Afi- ant thinks) by a Major Ross; that they commenced hos- tilities on the Mohawk river, whence an express was immediately sent from Col: Willet, the commander of Fort Plain, on the Mohawk river, to Col: Vrooman who had in command the three forts on the Schohar- ie river, for assistance - That detachments were detailed & sent from each of the forts on the Schoharie

and rendezvoused at the Middle fort & were marched (Affiant being one of the number) under Cap t John Titts, Titts or Ditz to Fort Plain, where they joined Colonel Willet, who marched on in quest of the enemy & came in contact with them at a place known by the name of Johnstown - Affiant states that when they discovered the enemy, they were engaged in killing & destroying cattle, that a sharp skirmish ensued, which continued a considerable time - Col o Willet gained a partial victory over the enemy & night coming on they retreated & marched up to the top of a very high ridge & encamped.
That Col o Willet encamped at Johnstown & early on the following morning marched in pursuit of the enemy, when after pursuing them Affiant thinks about 12 miles they overtook them, with whom they had a considerable skirmish, in which several of the enemy were killed & wounded, some of Col o Willet's men were also wounded, but none killed - The enemy retreated & Col o Willet ordered Cap t Titts or Ditts, with his company of rifle men, to which Affiant was attached on this excursion, together with 50 or 60 friendly Indians, of the Oneida tribe, commanded by Col o Looy, an Indian Officer of the same tribe, to pursue the enemy at least to Canada Creek, with the expectation of being able to annoy them in crossing said Creek, which they did & overtook part of the enemy while they were making their way over the creek, the crossing of which was attended with some difficulty, as the water was at that time rather deep to ford.
That Affiant's party fired on the enemy several times & killed a number of them, the amount Affiant cannot now recollect, if he ever knew, but amongst the slain Affiant thinks there was a Major Butler, who had taken an active part in the British service against the frontiers of New York, & who had signalized himself for his savage barbarity - That Affiant was then marched back to Fort Plain & thence to the Middle fort again - That after having been at the Middle fort Affiant thinks but a few days, a party of the enemy near 200 strong, were discovered near the upper fort, who had killed several families, that Affiant with about 30 rangers & 10 or 12 militia were sent from the Middle fort, to the upper fort, at which

place afield with the rangers aforesaid, were attached to Cap t Woolsey's Company of riflemen, & with a Company of Militia Commanded by Cap t Jacob Hager, marched under command of Major Woolsey in pursuit of the enemy & overtook them at a place known at that time by the name of Harpersfield, at the the head of the Delaware river, where they had an engagement with the enemy of whom they killed & wounded several, the number not now recollected, - that of afield's party only two were killed & seven wounded, as well as afield recollected. That afield was marched to the Middle fort again, where he was Sometime in January 1782 discharged after having served his term of Eight Months as Orderly Sergeant the time for which he volunteered - whether afield received any written discharge from the service for this last term he does not now recollect -
That afield knew in this last campaign, Major Vestal Woolsey, & Sygart & Captains Woolsey, Cap t & Lieut t Loop - Col o Willet, Col o Peter (or Peter) Major Fader, Captain Pattee & a Lieutenant of the same name besides others whose names afield has now forgotten.
That sometime in May 1782 afield still continuing to reside in Albany County, New York, enlisted where Cap t Steubrough or a Cap t of some such name, for a term of Nine Months - that afield with 27 others Constituting a part of a rifle Company was attached to a part of a Company of State or Continental troops, Commanded by Cap t Harrison, & was again stationed at the Middle fort on the Schoharie river under command of Col o Peter Vrooman, at which fort were also stationed 2 Companies of Militia Commanded by Cap t David Baker & John Bailey.
That afield was appointed & served as Orderly Sergeant of the Company to which he was attached during this Nine Months term , that afield served principally as a ranger having frequently command (as theretofore) of scouting parties - that sometime (afield thinks) in July of the same year, Indians were frequently discovered by the scouting parties, which induced afield & others to believe that a body of Indians were encamped in some place not far distant, that some of the scouts from Fort Clinton, ascertained that

This party of Indians were in camp on the top of a ridge, near Cobleskill creek & immediately informed Col. o Vrooman of the fact, - Whereupon Col. o Vrooman Ordered Afiart to select a few of the best men in the fort & go by night & ascertain if possible the strength of the enemy - that in obedience to this command Afiart chose Abraham Baker, Henry Hager, William Mackindice and Adam Folk, men in whose bravery & skill in Indian Warfare, Afiart thought he could confide - That Afiart with his party set out on this expedition directly after dark, having about 10 miles to travel, in order to reach the camp of the enemy, being directed by Col. o Vrooman to return the same night if possible - after having travelled some 2 or 3 miles, Afiart & his party missed their way by reason of the darkness of the night & were obliged to lay by till the next morning, when they resumed their march & reached the place at which the enemy were encamped about 9 O'clock. Afiart & his party came within a few steps of the camp of the Indians before they discovered any sign, in consequence of a rise of ground, - that before their camp fires, there was a great parcel of meat, stuck round about on spears or sticks roasting, & not an Indian there - they had gone down the hill some distance to an old waste field to gather (as Afiart supposes) rasp & black berries - On discovering the enemys camp Afiarts chosen few immediately deserted him & fled to a man - Afiart feeling himself bound to comply with the orders received from his Col. o , or at all events not to return until he has made some further effort to discover the strength of the enemy, went off some small distance from the encampment, & lay concealed in some bush near a place, where he supposed the Indians would pass in returning to their camp, by the way of an old trail - after being there a little while, Afiart heard some noise in the leaves & looked behind, or rather to one side & discovered an Indian alone, approaching very near Afiart, & making towards the camp, but coming from a different quarter from which Afiart expected & entirely to one side of the trail, he came very near before Afiart discovered him - Afiart being but poorly concealed & knowing from the direction of the camp,

for which the Indian was evidently making, that he (17) would certainly pass within a few feet of Afiat & that it would be impossible for him to remain undiscovered to the Indian, Afiat therefore instantly determined to shoot him, as the best & perhaps only means of escape, although danger & great hazard to his life attended him either way, as the main body of the Indians, must in all probability be very near, as (before stated) they had left their meat roasting before their fires, to which they would of course soon return - Afiat rose from his squatting position to his feet unperceived by the Indians, as the Indian was coming up a little rise within 18 or 20 feet of Afiat, about half the length of his body being exposed to Afiat. Afiat shot him through the breast, the Indian fell & was dead in an instant - Afiat seeing that the Indian had a beautiful English Fusee, such as (from information Afiat received) the English were in the habit of presenting to the chief Warriors & Captains of their savage Allies, to stimulate them to greater action, in their murderous & predatory, incursions, upon the whites, determined to make himself master of that. From the circumstance of his having this gun & of his having so many silver ornaments, about him, Afiat is confident he was an Indian chief & probably the commander of the party - One of the principal silver ornaments, Afiat also took a fancy to, being a a large one that bound his hair growing immediately on the crown of his head, being cylindrical & so fastened that it was not easily disengaged from the hair, Afiat with his knife severed it from the Indians head hair & all together with a little of the skin, which was accidental Afiat being in great haste - Afiat put off at full speed in the direction to the fort & when he had run about 300 yards or more, he heard the Indians setting their dogs on his trail - that he ran on until the first crossing of a small stream on his route, that empties into Cobleskill, after crossing which he heard the dogs at some distance back coming on his trail - when he came to the 2 nd crossing of said stream, he ran up some distance in the stream to prevent them following him further, after he left the stream, he ran up a

bottom about two miles, when he took to a ridge, at this time he heard the dogs again, & supposing them to be on his trail, (It somewhat alarmed him recollecting well his former scrape with dogs) but which after-wards learned was the trail of his deserting companions, the dogs at the 2 d crossing aforesaid taking theirs & at this place Afiart passing near them & hearing the dogs was deceived & the better to enable Afiart to escape the Indians & dogs, Afiart pulled off his clothes, except pantaloons & moccasins & threw them behind a log & then ran on until he reached the fort, where he arrived safely & some time before his comrades, arrived, who reported Afiart dead, as they were within hearing of Afiart's fire at the Indian aforesaid & supposed that it was Afiart that was shot at - It was purposely kept secret from them, that Afiart had reached the fort, for the purpose of seeing what tale they would tell - and on being asked what had become of their leader, replied "that the damned fool was dead - that they had discovered the enemys camp &c and that Greenmeyer would not leave them with them & before they were out of hearing, they heard the report of a rifle & they were certain he was dead" - after they had finished their tale & at the expense of Afiart as they supposed - Afiart left his concealment, much to their astonishment & chagrin.
The place where Afiart killed the Indian was afterwards, always called & known, while Afiart lived in that country, by the name of Greenmeyers battle ground - Afiart served nine months as Orderly Sergeant , the time for which he enlisted & received a discharge from Col. o Peter Vrooman, which he has long since lost - the neglecting to take care of it as well as all other discharges he received in the service as he considered them of no value to him whatever. That this last Iowa, completed Afiart's service in the Revolutionary struggle & made in all which he served the United States (viz)    1 st Iowa as a private  one year & one month    2 nd D o as a private  four months    3 rd D o as Orderly Sergeant  one year    4 th D o as Orderly Sergeant  Eight months    5 th D o as Orderly Sergeant  Nine months    and in all as a private one year & five months and

Two years & five months as Orderly Sergeant
That from the great lapse of time & consequent loss of memory, Affiant does not recollect the number or names of any Continental or Militia Regiments with which he served — thinks the Regiment in which he was placed under Col. o Willet was called the 9 th York Regiment, but of this is not certain.
Affiant states that he was born in the State of New York in the county of Albany the 28 th day of February 1761 & has a record of his age, that after the Revolutionary War he resided in the County of Albany in the state of New York until the year 1810, when Affiant removed to Washington County, State of Ohio, & when on a division of the same he fell in Monroe, near the county line, & that in the fall of 1833 he moved over the line into Washington County aforesaid where he now resides —
That he has no documentary evidence by which he can prove his services & knows of no person whose testimony he can procure (unless at an expense that he is illly able to encounter) who can testify to his service.
That he is acquainted with the Reverend Charles W. Talbott, Bement Hubbard, Aaron Price, William Hall, Anthony Sheets, Daniel Price, Samuel J. Hoop Esq r & others of his neighborhood, who can testify as to his character for veracity & their belief of his services in the revolution — He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a Pension or annuity but the present & declares that his name is not on the Pension roll of any State. Sworn to & subscribed the day & year aforesaid
David Greemoyer
We Charles W. Talbott a clergyman residing in Washington County State of Ohio and William Clutter in the same County & State aforesaid do hereby certify that we are well acquainted with David Greemoyer who has subscribed & sworn to the preceding Declaration that we believe him to be years old in East past, that he is reputed & believed in the neighborhood where he resides to have been a soldier of the revolution & that we concur in that Opinion.

Sworn to & Subscribed the day & year aforesaid
Charles Salter Clergyman
William Clutter
And I the said justice do hereby declare my opinion after the investigation of the matter, & after putting the several interrogatories prescribed by the war Department; That the above named applicant was a revolutionary soldier & served as he states; and I the said justice further certify that it appears to me that Charles W. Colbott, who has signed the preceding certificate, is a Clergyman resident in the County of Washington & State aforesaid & that William Clutter who has also signed the same is a resident in the said County & State aforesaid & is a creditable person & that their statement is entitled to credit; & I the said justice do further certify that after having personally examined the body of the above named applicant that he bears scars corresponding with those stated in his declaration to have been received in the revolutionary war, strongly evidencing the truth of those statements & I the said justice do further certify that the above named applicant resides some 32 or 33 miles from the courthouse of his said County & from old age & bodily infirmity he the said applicant is unable to travel to the C H of his County aforesaid given under my hand & seal in & for said County of Washington & State of Ohio the day & year first above written
Thos Ferguson J. Pease, Seal
The

The State of Ohio, I, George Granley, Clerk of the Court Washington County of Common Pleas within & for said County, do hereby certify that the fore- going contains the original proceedings before Thomas Ferguson, a justice of the peace in and for Newport Township in said County, in the matter of the application of David Freemoyer for a pension, and that the foregoing signature, purporting to be the sign- ature of said Justice of the peace, is genuine.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of said Court, at Marietta in said County, this sixteenth day of August, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and thirtyfour. G. Granley. Clerk

RECORDED can
No. 20,137
[REDACTED]
WAR [REDACTED]
[REDACTED] David Freemeyer
WIDOW of
Rev. War.
[REDACTED]

Nov. 11. 85
San Francisco Ohio
No. 11. 1835 Pension Office
ans? Nov. 14. 1835

Referred to the Select Committee on the Assassinations of Presidents Kennedy, Lincoln and Garfield
Andrew Jackson President of the United States Washington City
Reference is to him

I want you honor to be informed that I have spent my blood for my Country there is a declaration laying in the war department which will show your honor to your satisfaction what I have performed in the time of the revolutionary war those that under took for me to get my money charges me two thirds of money that I shall be able to recover I pray your honor to put a stop to it I pray your honor befriend me an old uniform worn out soldier the almighty God will be a friend to do you to crown with a crown of glory both in this world and the world to come
if I cannot get Assistance from the war department immediately I shall be under the necessity of throwing myself on the Government for support as I have not not been able to do any labour for Eighteen Months past a favor from you in this case will be always be gratefully remembered by an old soldier Yours Respectfully David Freeman
Direct to Grand View Washington Co State of Ohio October 26 th 1835